


the good ones [always seem to break]

by onefootonego (startingXI)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 01:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15132083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startingXI/pseuds/onefootonego
Summary: villians have some fascination with killing her, with felling the mighty supergirl and really, she’s a little tired of it.especially when she’s faced with someone who may actually be able to complete the task.“there are recipes online,” krane says “for making kryptonite. did you know that? i asked around.”oh, great, at least her death will have been crowd sourced.





	the good ones [always seem to break]

lie number one: “it’s going to be okay.” 

they are words murmured across a coms line. words said so softly, so hushed that amongst the frantic beating of maggie’s racing heart, the catching and heaving of her breath through fractured lungs - the words are nearly lost. 

nearly. 

it is lucy who says the words. who’s trapped in the confines of the desert base, the last safe space left for the deo to reconvene in this moment. maggie, delirious and aching, can practically see lucy pacing anxiously. her arms are wrapped around herself, nerves working her lower lip, but her spine is ramrod straight. 

maggie wants to kiss her one more time. 

she’s not sure that chance will come to her. 

no.

maggie’s certain death is in her future. 

it would be a relief, she thinks. a relief from the pain of broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. of suspected internal bleeding and a shattered ankle. 

death, or at the very least unconsciousness would be a relief. 

but maggie wants to hear lucy’s voice one last time. 

*

lie number two: “we’ll be in and out.” 

alex doesn’t mean it, but she masks it well. there’s no way that this operation will be anything near as simple what she has just said. that is a truth that radiates through the back of the truck. all the agents, her agents, are aware of the risks. yet they sit here anyway. 

alex presses a button on her com, switching channels, seeking lucy’s voice “talk to me.” she murmurs “please.” 

it’s uncharacteristic nerves threading their way through her words. 

lucy hears. 

lucy understands. 

lucy lies, for both their sakes. 

“it’s going to be okay.” 

*

lie number three: “i can handle this.” 

kara says the words, and from her lips on any other day, they would not be a lie. however today is a different day, the opponent before them has decimated a city. they are fighting for survival against an enemy whose moral compass has never had true north. he carries technology and science that, later and in the safety of a lab, kara will look at and be reminded of home. 

in this moment however, she is realising that 

no, 

she can not handle this. 

she needs back-up. 

* 

maggie’s shoulders scream. her wrists have long since given up their painful throbbing, aided on by maggies inability to stop attempting to rescue herself. 

it was only after her ankle was gracelessly shattered as a deterrent that she stopped. since then it is her ribs that have taken a beating. the man holding her captive is careful, he understands her value comes in remaining alive - for if she is dead, 

well, 

maggie thinks of the fury that would be unleashed. she thinks of alex and the parts of herself that alex would sacrifice in the name of revenge. she thinks of lucy and the darkness she would embrace for similar reasons. so while she would welcome the relief of death, maggie considers that she can not let herself go just yet. she will not let her lovers lose themselves in the wake of such an event. 

it seems far too noble a reason to stay alive, but maggie is clutching at straws. 

“it’s going to be okay.” 

maggie wonders if she’s having an auditory hallucination. there’s no reason that she should head lucy’s voice. there’s no way that amongst the beatings she’s taken that her captor has not discovered the com in her ear. 

“maggie,” lucy’s voice again “it’s going to be okay.” 

it’s an auditory hallucation is what maggie decides. 

she also decides that she’s okay with hearing things. 

*

their destination is a warehouse, villains always seem to use warehouses as their secret bases. which frankly, alex appreciates. the predictability makes her job a little bit easier. which doesn’t make much of a difference when they’re dealing with a genius level mad scientist enacting mass murder for fun. but, 

the truck brakes to a harsh stop. 

alex stands, she switches the channels on her com and stands. 

she looks around at the team amassed before her. they are the best the deo can offer her. 

she nods once and strides between them. the back doors of the truck swing open before her and there, cape fluttering slightly in the evening breeze, 

is supergirl.

supergirl puts a hand on alex’s shoulder and squeezes gently. 

there is a moment of silence communication between them, a conversation had with eye contact alone. 

alex feels stronger for having supergirl here. she thinks today, of all days, they’re going to need her. 

maggie is going to need her. 

*

to kara’s credit she’s gotten a lot better at breaking through walls. there’s less mass destruction of the architecture and more care shattering of non-essential components in order to gain access. in the case of today, she goes more of the mass destruction of architecture approach. she is, after all, trying to make a scene. 

her job today is to be a distraction, so no one will notice the dancing bear. 

it’s a poor metaphor, sure - alex would never want to be called a dancing bear, however when kara had said it a small laugh had echoed around the room. a much needed laugh. 

so the operation was christened, 

operation dancing bear. 

supergirl’s never really been one for subtle. 

“come out krane!” she shouts, her voice echoing, her anger clear “don’t be a coward!” 

it’s hard still to believe that a single man, even with deranged beliefs like krane’s could be responsible for the deaths in national city. or is it rather that kara is simply exhausted of the killing? 

right now she’s not sure. 

right now is not the time to care. 

she’s got a criminal to find. 

*

 

maggie is aware of the moment supergirl arrives because the whole building seems to quake and the man in front of her breaks into a manic grin. 

“finally.” he says with the air of someone who has been waiting for this moment for a very long time. 

maggie does suspect this is exactly the case. 

krane looks to her “your friends are here detective.” he says, eyes haunting, shining with glee “let’s see how long it takes for them to die.” 

you stare him down. 

you will not let him know of the fear twisting in your stomach. you will not betray yourself like that, you have had a lifetime of practice in hiding your true feelings to the faces of white men. 

he leaves the room as a voice shouts, from some distance away 

“come out krane!” 

kara, supergirl. that’s supergirls voice. righteous and angry. 

maggie does not dare to hope she will make it out of this alive. 

*

alex waits for the building to visible shudder before kicking down a door. the movement feels good, to finally be able to use her pent up anger and worry for something productive. something like finding maggie. saving maggie. 

she knows there is incredible importance in stopping krane. 

alex also knows there is incredible importance in getting maggie out of this alive. 

she weighs the two as she enters the building. 

the first room is empty, eerily so. it puts alex on edge. she holds up a closed fist and scans the room carefully until - 

the razor wire catches in the street light filtering in through a smashed window. alex moves carefully forward, stepping over it, 

her team does the same. trepidation settles in their chest as they realise this is probably just the first of many tricks and traps. except there is gritty determination in alex’s veins. she has adrenaline and fear fuelling her, an especially potent combination in an agent of her talents and her skills.

* 

krane appears through a door to kara’s left with a weapon in his hand. he does act first, and perhaps it’s the half second that kara gives him to do so that defines this fight. she feels her body gripped by sudden pain. such a largely unfamiliar feeling for her, except for this brand of pain is special. 

kryptonite 

“it’s a taser,” krane explains “sort of. do you like it?” 

not really, kara would say, if she were in a position to be able to talk.

except she isn’t. yet. the effects of the kryptonite seem short lived, shorter than kara has experienced before and she’s pulling herself to her feet, circling the man responsible for the deaths of so many. 

“why do you do it?” she saks, even though she neither cares about the answer, nor wants to hear the man speak but, 

she thinks of the dancing bear. 

krane breaks into a manic grin “why do you it, supergirl?” he throws back “it calls to me. it’s my purpose.” 

dancing bear. dancing bear. dancing bear. 

“my purpose is to stop monsters like you.” kara explains. 

krane laughs “i’m sure that’s what you think.” he says “but you’re going to die today.” 

villains have some fascination with killing her, with felling the mighty supergirl and really, she’s a little tired of it. 

especially when she’s faced with someone who may actually be able to complete the task. 

“there are recipes online,” krane says “for making kryptonite. did you know that? i asked around.” 

oh, great, at least her death will have been crowd sourced. 

the new information is of little comfort and kara listens, she listens to the deo team navigating the myriad of traps. 

she wants to end this man, perhaps more than anyone she’s ever come face to face with before. 

it’s not a new feeling, this burning rage - but when faced with this man, rao it feels good. 

*

maggie has started counting. she started at one, is currently at seven hundred and twenty nine and plans on stopping at a thousand and counting backwards, by nines. 

anything to keep her awake. 

her adrenaline reserves have run out. she’s got nothing left in the tank. 

all she has are numbers, and the will to see her girlfriends faces one last time. 

“seven thirty eight, seven forty seven,” she mumbles and her words are slurring her legs are quaking, her wrists are holding the brunt of her bodyweight “seven fifty six, seven sixty five.” 

she tries to keep going. 

keeps forcing herself to do the math. 

she hears the distant explosion of gunfire, wonders if those are the last sounds she’s ever going to hear.   
*

alex never wants to go near a haunted house. not in the near future and probably not in the distant future. the twisted fuck krane had left enough jump scares and bombs to take out a city block. again. however she’s got kara in her ear saying 

“that door. that’s the one.” just before the echoing sounds of a fight come through the com. 

alex puts a hand on the doorknob. it’s cool to the touch. she twists it slowly, holding her breath, listening hard. 

she hears nothing. 

she pushes open the door and - 

she turns to the rest of her team “go help supergirl.” she says, “i’ve got sawyer.” 

“i’ve can handle this.” comes kara’s voice in alex’s ear, but she’s strained, in pain. 

alex turns to her team again “go.” she urges. 

*

maggie doesn’t even hear the door open.

she doesn’t hear alex’s footsteps across the barren concrete floor. 

the first sensation she’s aware of is alex’s touch to her jaw. it’s unexpected and maggie flinches away, so used to hands that hurt in the recent days. 

“it’s me.” alex murmurs “maggie it’s me.” brown eyes force themselves open, “hey pretty girl.” alex murmurs. 

it’s hardly the time or the place, not with gunfire coming from above them, but alex is so temporarily relieved. 

“alex,” maggie mumbles, “i gotta keep counting.” 

it’s all she can think about, the numbers, the steady stream of numbers that will keep her alive. 

“nine thirty six, nine forty five, nine fifty four.” maggie forces herself to keep going, up and up and up. 

“good,” alex murmurs “that’s really good mags.” she says, “keep counting. i’m going to get you out of here.” 

maggie won’t believe it until it’s true, but when her hands are freed she grips at alex all the same. 

*

kara has never been more relieved to see the deo team enter the room. 

not because she’s going to be incapacitated, although she’s in substantial pain, but because the anger coursing through her veins is just so 

tempting. 

she wants to succumb to it. 

she wants to eviscerate this man. a killer of children. a killer of the unprotected and the uninvolved. 

she is enraged. 

“kara,” a voice in her head, a voice through the com “kara stand down.” 

kara’s not sure if she can. 

lucy’s voice comes again “kara listen to me, he’s not worth it.” 

kara’s not so sure that’s true. 

“you kill him, he wins.” 

but he’d be dead. 

“kara,” a new voice, alex’s voice - “kara i need your help.” 

she’s distressed. worried. krane is in custody. he’s face down on a concrete floor with a knee in his back. 

“kara please,” alex says “it’s maggie.” 

kara makes a choice. 

the same choice she makes every day. 

she lets go of her anger. she pushes it down in the same instance she takes off. 

her stomach swoops. regret settles in her stomach. 

*

maggie hates flying. 

she hates planes. she hates helicopters and she really hates flying with supergirl. but death must be close if kara’s got her. if kara’s rocketing towards the desert base and it’s on-call medical team. 

maggie closes her eyes and realises she’s stopped counting. 

realises she doesn’t know the numbers anymore. 

*

alex is sitting in the back of the truck. she’s covered in blood and dust. for the most part, everyone is alive. wounds to spare for most, but they have krane. he’s chained to the floor of the truck and alex has the barrel of her gun pressed against his forehead. 

he’s looking up at her. 

“are you going to kill me agent danvers?” he asks. 

no. 

“i think you want to.” 

yes. 

“i think you should.” 

yes. 

“kill me agent danvers.” 

no 

she lowers her weapon “not a chance.” she bites “i’m not giving you the satisfaction.” 

yes. 

*  
maggie’s blood is warm on kara’s skin. it’s not a good sign, just how much blood there is. how maggie has stopped talking and is barely breathing. 

kara lands as carefully as she can on base, hands maggie over to the medical staff and - 

“shit.” lucy says, and kara turns to see the assistant director of the deo standing there, frozen, eyes wide “oh shit, mags.” her words are hushed, her gaze flits from kara to maggie, to the blood on kara’s suit and back again. 

the medical team is whisking maggie away. 

lucy moves, as if to follow. 

kara stops her, a hand coming to lucy’s shoulder “let them work.” kara says quietly “krane is coming in.” 

lucy’s eyes darken “the bastard.” 

kara nods, sighs “i need to clean up.” 

lucy’s hand comes to kara’s elbow “let me help.” 

kara is glad for the company, it’s dangerous for her to be alone with her thoughts right now. 

*

the world is bright and quiet. or dark and loud. or all at the same time. 

maggie's not sure. 

she can’t tell. 

it’s everything, all at once. 

she aches. 

one voice cuts through the confusion 

“we love you maggie.” 

and another voice 

“we love you so much.” 

her girls. 

their voices. 

maggie figures, somewhere deep in her consciousness, 

she can die now. 

*

it’s been three days since krane’s arrest and alex hasn’t so much as gone near him. 

she wants nothing to do with him. doesn’t want to see his face, or hear what shit she’s spraying now. 

she cares only about maggie and kara and lucy. 

maggie because she’s been unconscious since her rescue, her body working through the healing process. 

kara because she admitted, early in the hours of the second day, that she still has the urge to kill krane. an urge kara doesn’t want to act on, but does all at the same time. 

and lucy because, 

well, 

“you need to eat something luce,” alex murmurs “i’ve got soup.” 

lucy glances over, sees the tupperware from their fridge “you went home?” 

alex nods “to get you soup.” she says “you have to eat.” 

lucy looks back over at maggie, nodding slowly, reaching for the container and the spoon “okay.” she says “okay.” 

*  
truth number one: “detective sawyer is expected to make a full recovery.” 

this is said by the doctors, to maggie, to alex and to lucy.

it is good news. 

*

truth number two: “i want him dead. i think i’ll always want him dead. but killing him brings me to his level and i’m not like him.” 

kara admits this to alex one night six months after maggie is discharged from the medical bay. 

it is neither good nor bad, 

it is a reality of the lives they lead. 

alex agrees with a nod and an arm wrapping around kara’s shoulders “you’re a hero.” she says “a good person.” 

kara bites her tongue, does not say how something she doesn’t feel like either of those things. 

*

truth number three: “i love you.” 

words spoken by maggie, 

to her partners. one year to the day since her rescue.

**Author's Note:**

> this started with the scene for the "hey pretty girl" line and grew from there. 
> 
> song title is from sky full of song by florence and the machine [p.s. the new album is a+++]


End file.
